State House News Service
BOSTON - Minutes after verbally agreeing to postpone action, the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority board reversed course Monday and approved toll increases, stunning Metrowest lawmakers and sparking furious rebukes from two board members.
The board authorized a 25-cent toll hike to $1.25 at the Metrowest Turnpike extension and a 50-cent hike to $3.50 at the Big Dig tunnels. Board members cautioned that additional toll hikes will occur if state officials can't agree on transportation financing reforms that are likely to prove controversial.
Board Chairman Bernard Cohen, the state's transportation secretary, initially recommended that the board put off its vote while it considered board member Mary Connaughton's plan to maintain current toll rates for Metrowest drivers, create incentives for drivers to switch from cash to automated payment systems, and hike commercial vehicle tolls 75 percent. Cohen said he was concerned about the economic impact of increasing commercial tolls.
"We have a scenario that has some promise and some problems," he said of Connaughton's plan. "I'm willing to give us a month to test this scenario against the [scheduled hike]."
But after a 30-minute break during which he met with board members individually and privately, Cohen reversed course. After the break, Cohen said any changes to the scheduled toll increase would require additional public hearings and would put the authority behind its Jan. 1, 2008, deadline to increase tolls.
That deadline was put in place in 1999, when the authority mapped out a schedule to repay Big Dig (also known as the Central Artery Project) debt to bondholders. Two board members, Michael Angelini and Thomas Stephen, both appointed by Gov. Deval Patrick, supported Cohen's reversal. They told meeting attendees that the solution was only a short-term fix while the Patrick administration devises a comprehensive transportation finance overhaul.
In a phone interview, Cohen said he was "actively engaged in discussion with legislative leaders," including the House speaker, the Senate president and the chairmen of the Joint Transportation Committee, about the progress of a proposed overhaul.
"We have retained the services of a financial consulting firm and an organizational consulting firm to help us think through some of the issues associated with the restructuring," he said. "Part of the plan involves consolidating a number of administrative functions."
Cohen said he changed his tune on postponing a toll vote upon "the realization that we couldn't make the January toll increase timeline if we went out for additional public hearings."
"My credibility and our credibility was on the line because at the same time that we're asking the rating agencies to bear with us ... to see if we can put in place reforms that will provide sustainable funds for the authority, I was making a promise that we would at least take the first step in January," he said.
Patrick told the News Service on Monday that he supported the toll increase approved by the board, calling it "what we anticipated."
"There are certain obligations that are set out in the bonds," he said, adding that he is "sensitive" to the issue of inequity for Metrowest tollpayers.
On the proposal to overhaul the state's transportation agencies, Patrick did not offer a timetable but said, "There's a whole lot more work that has to be done." He added, "Our long-term focus has got to be in capturing efficiencies first."
Connaughton, with the support of board member Judy Pagliuca, opposed the toll hike, arguing that it exacerbates an existing inequity for Metrowest drivers who disproportionately finance Big Dig debt. When the board voted 3-2 to approve the hike, she erupted.
"It's a sad, sad day," she said. "If this is the direction the turnpike authority is going then it's sad."
Later, she told the News Service, "The tollpayers just got raked over the coals."
Sen. Karen Spilka, D-Ashland, on hand for the toll vote, called the board meeting "a comedy of errors" and said she had "zero faith" that the board would ever seriously address inequity for Metrowest commuters.
"I'm almost at a loss for words," she said. "The first hour and a half of the meeting, there was no purpose for it. I'm astounded. There are viable options within their control and their power to not increase the burden on the Metrowest taxpayers, and that's what they seemingly were planning on doing for the first two hours of this meeting and then they switched gears."
Connaughton proposed her alternative plan at an Oct. 3 board meeting and asked the turnpike staff to crunch the numbers to assure its viability. Back then, the board voted unanimously to evaluate an earlier version of her plan and discuss it at Monday's meeting.
The board also agreed to establish an independent working group to examine toll inequity, although some board members wondered aloud whether that was the job of the existing turnpike staff or whether a 2003 legislative report on the same subject was sufficient.
Turnpike Authority Executive Director Mary Jane O'Meara said the group would be unable to report comprehensive findings until April.
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Lanesborough Town Meeting to Vote Budget, Bylaws & Vehicle Purchases
By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff
LANESBOROUGH, Mass. — Tuesday's annual town meeting includes a $14 million operating budget, new short-term rentals, accessory dwelling units and sign bylaws, and free cash article appropriations.
Voters will gather at Lanesborough Elementary School on June 9 at 6 p.m. to decide on 20 warrant articles.
The fiscal 2027 budget is up a little over 10 percent. Some of the main increases are the Mount Greylock Regional School District and McCann Technical School: the McCann assessment is up more than 30 percent based on factors including enrollment and the school renovation project, and Mount Greylock's is up 11 percent.
Article 11 is for the town to vote to approve from free cash the sum of $16,298.48 for the McCann Technical School roof and window replacement project so as not to impact the budget. Article 3 is appropriate $7,586,284 for Mount Greylock Regional School assessment.
Another notable increase was in life and health insurance, showing an increase of about 26 percent.
Ambulance Director Jen Weber is planning 24-hour coverage, which means more staff and a hike in her budget. One of the articles asks the town to appropriate $234,100 to operate the Ambulance Enterprise Fund for salaries and expenses.
Many town departments are looking for new vehicles. The Fire Department is looking to replace its outdated 1996 fire engine. There are two articles related to the truck at a total of $813,366. Article 12 would transfer $225,000 from free cash into the Fire Truck Stabilization Fund; Article 13 would transfer $605,000 from the fund and authorize the borrowing of $208,366.08.
The total includes a $100,000 contingency cost to cover any additional costs if a 2026 model-year chassis cannot be secured before new emissions standards go into effect in 2027.
The board at its last meeting moved the $225,000 transfer to come before the borrowing article, changing the stabilization number. If the $225,000 is not voted on, then they will amend the next article's number on the floor, subtracting the $225,000. This shows the borrowing number significantly lower.
Article 17 asks for the transfer of $80,000 from free cash to replace a police cruiser.
Police Chief Rob Derksen's aim is to replace one vehicle every other year, meaning the oldest vehicle gets replaced about every 10 years.
He stressed that if delayed this year, the town may have to double up in a future year to get back on schedule, and that paying later usually costs more. The article will ask for $80,000 from free cash, the vehicles used to be funded by the BHRD.
Lastly, the Highway Department is looking to replace a 2014 International dump truck that will be a total of $330,000 and will take two to three years to receive.
Money will be used from last year's approval of $250,000 from free cash for the replacement of a 2012 highway front-end loader that was underspent $49,261. Town meeting is being asked to approve a transfer of $53,274.85 from free cash and the use of $227,464 from funds from the Sale of Town Real Estate to fund the balance.
Other free cash proposals include $1,200 to purchase software to support tracking and ongoing maintenance schedules of town-owned vehicles; $42,000 for the replacement of the Highway Department's storage shed roof, $200,000 to reduce the tax levy.
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